County commission

A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials called county commissioners. They work together to run the county government in many states of the United States. Most county commissions have three to five members, but in some places, like Georgia, one person, called a sole commissioner, can have all the power of the commission.

Sometimes, other names are used instead of "county commission," such as county board of supervisors or county council. These names usually mean the same thing, but in some areas, they can be different. For example, a county council might have more members or a different way of running things, like a council-manager form of government. In Indiana, except for Marion County which shares its government with the city of Indianapolis, there are both a county commission and a county council. The county commission handles daily tasks, while the county council focuses on money matters.

County commissions are important because they make many decisions for the area they serve. They collect local taxes, manage services like jails, courts, and public health, handle property records, enforce building rules, and take care of public works such as maintaining roads. In rural areas, county commissions often have a lot of control, but in cities, local governments sometimes take over these duties. Some counties are thinking about increasing their commissions from three members to five to better serve their communities.

History

Origin

William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, started the idea of county commissions in the United States.

On February 28, 1681, King Charles II of England gave William Penn land to pay back a debt. Penn used this land to create a new colony with two important ideas: the county commission and freedom of religious conviction.

Spread and development

As new areas grew, local governments called townships helped rural places better. These townships were led by an elected leader named a Supervisor.

Some states changed county commissions to have Supervisors from each township instead. These groups were called Boards of Supervisors. Western states also used this name even when their boards were elected like the old commissions.

New Jersey used to call county commissioners "freeholders," but stopped this practice in 2021.

County boards by state